Silicon Valley isn’t buying GOP’s data plans

Boyce had it easier selling Liberty Works to the Washington establishment, with Rove as his Sherpa. Boyce met with Beltway insiders, including RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, chief of staff Mike Shields, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and others from Team Romney, according to a person close to Liberty Works.

“He was really interested in talking about what worked and what could have been better,” said Zac Moffatt, digital director for Mitt Romney’s campaign, who spoke with Boyce both during and after the election. “They’re trying to build something that’s more than just one campaign.”

Text Size

“Karl Rove, to me, doesn’t mean engaging an open-source community,” said Aaron Ginn, director of growth for StumbleUpon, who also worked for the Romney campaign.

Rove does not have an official role or financial stake in Liberty Works but has been the company’s biggest cheerleader, actively fundraising for the startup, and several sources say Rove remains heavily involved in the effort.

But Rove’s attachment to Liberty Works has raised eyebrows among tea party and other conservatives who worry that he will make it difficult for outsiders to make an impact in GOP politics. Rove has not previously been known for his work in the digital field.

“[F]or all of Karl Rove’s fine attributes, he is also largely a direct mail guy who learned at the foot of Lee Atwater and never really learned anything after Atwater passed,” RedState’s Erick Erickson wrote earlier this month. “I’m just not sure, after the 2012 race, that this is a wise investment. Direct mail guys believe the data is the value, and what Team Obama discovered is that the tools to analyze the data are the value.”

A spokeswoman for Rove declined to comment on his relationship with Boyce and Liberty Works.

The RNC has been actively discussing the yet-to-be-built platform with outside groups, educating them and familiarizing them with the project with the hope that they will eventually sign on.

“We’re excited about our progress after launching an unprecedented effort to restructure around data and digital efforts in order to foster innovation to the Republican Party,” said RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski.

The RNC has a rare window of opportunity to get its voter data platform right. The Democratic Party’s tech operation for the past six years has revolved around President Barack Obama’s campaign, GOP sources say, and the campaign’s resources have now been leased to the president’s political arm, Organizing for Action.